Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Sarah + Josh : wedding // longview, tx wedding and lifestyle photographer

So many mysteries
I wanted to unravel
If I could travel the world
But I had hardly seen a thing
Until I gave a golden ring
To the one who gave her heart to me
That's the day I hit the road
'Cause I walked the hills of the human soul
Of a tender girl
She opened the gate and took my hand
And led me into the mystic land
Where her galaxies swirl.

-andrew peterson || world traveler

I can vividly remember the night I met Sarah. Both of us young teenagers at a mutual friend's birthday party...shy, quiet, polite girls with big unseen futures ahead of them meeting for the first time. Fast forward several years of becoming closer friends with her and I have come to appreciate this girl as a dear sister in Christ with a heart full of beautiful thoughts and a desire to be completely in love with her Lord. So I was thrilled to hear of the news that she had fallen in love with "a dentist boy" who just happened to become the man of her dreams. (Their story is soso precious. Check it out if you want >>> here.)When I saw the pictures, and the changed relationship status notifying me she was getting married I did pause to think about how loooovely it would be to be her wedding photographer! (I mean...let's admit it, she's super gorgeous and it was oooobvious that she was gonna be a stunner bride.) Which leads me to the squeals of delight when I got "that text" from Sarah asking me...(dun dun DUN) to shoot her wedding!! It was a beautiful day, focused on joy and praising God for His sovereignty. So thankful to have been a part of it.
Pre-wedding excited texts between the bride and groom? Cuuute. ;)

Bridal "It's my weeeedding daaaay!" instagrams of course. ;)
Sarah being a concert pianist made this a "must" shot of the day. :)
Her big brother Joshua coming in to see the bride :) 
Can anyone guess who we have to thank for lunch? ;)
Her little brother Joseph helping with reception prep. :)



The choice to rock a plum lip on a fall wedding day? Perfect! :)




































Sister-in-loves. :)
Kaitlin is Josh's sister....

....and Keri is (newly) married to Sarah's older brother. :)





Sarah was a wow-wow-wowza bride!!





She took a moment to coach her parents on the best way to look natural when smiling. ;)







Dapper little brothers. :)

























































After I had finished photographing the guys I was coming back to see what the girls were up to and instead I found Sarah huddled with her parents as her dad was praying for her. It was beautiful. As he said "Amen", he and Debbie lifted their heads and were about to pull away when Sarah pulled them in closer and began praying...Thanking God for the day, for His guiding hand, for Josh, for disappointments that had lead to God's true purposes, and especially for the faithfulness of her parents throughout the years. It was a really powerful moment that brought me to tears.






Another precious moment! Sarah crept up to one of the the side doors to the sanctuary because she wanted to hear the music and see people ushered down that she would've missed otherwise. :)















This glance between her parents. Chiiiills.






















Maid of honor tears. <3


Aaaaand FIRST KISS!! (period. not just first kiss as husband and wife. first everrr. exciting, eh?  *giggles and such*)






Mr. and Mrs. de Graffenried everybodyyyy!! :D




So much love! So much hugging! So much happy! :)






Sarah's mom was RADIANT with joy all day long. Absolutely Thrilled Mama stunning. :)




























Did I hear hallelujah choruses just now? I'm pretty sure I did.




When asked what he loves about Sarah, Josh told me

"She is beautiful and brilliant! Her love of theology and sense of color are such cheerful and precious character qualities. 




I love to hear her think. She's so deep and loves to ponder the great things about God. 



And she is yet alive and and cheerful and in love with the world around her. 






She has such a serious joy that makes her an untradable treasure."






And when I asked Sarah what she loved about Josh she said,

"He's always in tune to what's around him. 

His heart is always alive towards me. 



He is sold to pursuing God's glory in all of life and operates around his vision and God-sent goals with a focused intensity. I love that he's my steady place, my rock, my happy zone -- 

a brilliant stability at all times. 






He is convinced of God's sovereignty, and a profound thinker. He has a brilliant mind. He is constantly selfless, sincere, deep, and sacrificial in his interaction with me. 

What a profound picture of Christ's love he shows me everyday!





















When I asked them things they like to do together they said,\
"Read, Talk God, life, culture, eat great foods, Go to conferences/learn together, Play tennis, be involved at church, star gazing"






















Reception time! :)






hey yo, watch the veil! (laugh out loud for real. even these kinda moments were so real and perfect.)





















This truly is the age of technology ;)






























And even when the happy couple is gone, the beautiful moments don't stop. I will forever love this moment...The Mother of the Bride, shedding some bittersweet tears after her little girl drove away newlywed, being comforted by her Daddy. Proof all the way around that, no matter how old you get, you will always be your parents' baby.



All the little unforgettable moments of this day are treasured up in my heart. Love you guys! I'll be honored always to say I was blessed to capture your day. Happy married life! :) xoxo

~Through Christ's Love